Chapter Two of Sandstorm is here. Thanks to all who liked this. And I didn't mean to bash the Uchiha clan on that last chapter; it just kinda happened. Oh well.
Another thing I want to note. I won't be using honorifics because a) I only partially understand them after reading the wiki page and b) 95% probability I would use them for one chapter while I have them in my brain and not use them the next chapter, and then all you guys would be wondering "What happened to the honorifics?" I'm only going to use them for '-sensei', because…well, they make the most sense to me. Sorry if it matters; I didn't see that much of a problem because of it. But enough that I'm going to point it out.
Mizuki wasn't really a "sensei" to Naruto in my opinion, so he won't earn that honorific.
Last part – I'm going to be using what I've seen in the dubbed anime and what I've read on the Narutopedia pages. And while I always double-check my facts, I have never read the manga, or seen the subbed anime version. So yeah. Sorry if that matters as well.
Anyway, enjoy the chapter. It revolves around the day Gaara and Naruto graduate from the academy.
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Chapter Two: Out of the Academy
Six years later…
"Naruto, wake up. Today's the day."
With a yawn, Naruto forced his upper-body to sit up, rubbing his eyes. He looked across the room to see Gaara already making his bed, clothes on and ready for another day. "Hey Gaara, get any sleep last night?"
"No. What did you expect?"
Gaara was an insomniac. He couldn't sleep even when he tried, because a tiny part of his brain would stop him. A small, guttural voice would whisper 'Sleep…sleep…' in the back of his mind. It was eerie, frightening, and it ultimately convinced Gaara not to sleep. He knew something bad would happen if he did, and he was not ready to face whatever was trying to lull him to sleep.
"No harm in asking, right? I mean, someday it will get better…" Naruto tried to cheer Gaara up.
"Maybe."
They went on to their daily routine. Gaara would fix up the little apartment and go over their notes from yesterday while Naruto made them breakfast. They worked efficiently and effectively, not wanting to be late to class.
Naruto, having been forced to cook for someone else who enjoys more than just ramen and cereal, had become a surprisingly good chef. He put a little bit of his creativity into every meal that made a new dish a wonder to explore. He still went out to Ramen Ichiraku when he could, but not quite so frequently.
Gaara was the serious one between the two. He made Naruto become a better student, sharing his school materials and helping Naruto catch up if the blonde had missed anything. Naruto didn't really have that great of an attention span (that's an understatement), but Gaara absorbed information like a sponge. That, and because of the constant protection, he had nothing to distract him. Everyone ignored him, anyway. There was only one person who could make Gaara crack a smile, and that was his roommate.
In the last six years both of the boys' lives had improved tremendously. Yes, they only had each other, including the Hokage and Iruka-sensei, but that's all they needed. Naruto had toned down his pranks; he no longer did them for attention, but just because they were fun to do. His grades in class had also improved, since he had Gaara to help him through the lessons. He had lost his school materials long ago, and because Gaara was required to have a set they just shared his.
Gaara was no longer the cynical little sociopath everyone thought he would grow up to. He had met a true friend in Naruto, and it was hard to be such a sad person when you had Naruto's infectious attitude around you.
In taijutsu, Naruto finally had another opponent to practice on, and an opponent who had the best defense in possibly the whole shinobi world. Gaara never complained, was able to read at the same time, and could point out the flaws in Naruto's form. The only problem was that Gaara didn't know how to stop the barrier, so he was never able to practice his own taijutsu.
With ninjutsu, well, Gaara found a rather bloody technique that had frightened Naruto when he used it on an unfortunate rat in their room. He called it Sand Coffin, and Naruto quickly made Gaara promise to never use it on another human being unless absolutely necessary.
Naruto improved steadily in ninjutsu as well, with a vast amount of chakra reserves that surpassed even Gaara's. He didn't know anything fancy yet, but he knew it would only be a matter of time before had something truly unique. He would make sure of that. If not, how would he ever pass his rivalry with Gaara?
Neither of them found much use in genjutsu. They found it boring, unpractical. In a real fight, a talented ninja would override the jutsu, leaving the user with less chakra then before. And for the position they wanted, they would be facing many talented ninja.
They wanted to be the Kage's. Hokage for Naruto and the Kazekage for Gaara. While formerly banished from his hometown, Gaara had sworn to return, and be the youngest Kazekage yet. His father didn't scare him, and why should he? He had powers his father couldn't dream of.
They were nearing the end of their year. Soon they would be taking their genin test, and leave the academy for good. The pair had been planning for this day for a while now. Gaara, being the brilliant mind he was, suggested that Naruto pretend to be "Dead Last". Although at first skeptical that Gaara was just trying to get ahead of him, a more thorough explanation indicated that the top student and bottom student would be paired up.
Gaara and Naruto wanted to be on the same team any way possible. Since Gaara had no chance of being last, because of his sand protection, Naruto would have to be the "Dead Last" of the class. That meant bad grades, lying low, and keeping his abilities quiet. No loud boasting.
Honestly, Naruto didn't care. It's not like grades mattered to the shinobi way of life, it would only effect his reputation, and that really couldn't get any lower.
After they were done with their morning routine, Gaara and Naruto head off for the academy.
When they got there, the bell had already ringed. Kids were going to their respective seats and tying up their conversations with their friends.
"Alright class, today is going to be the day you can graduate!"
Iruka watched in mild amusement as many of the students paled, obviously not expecting to be having their exam already. "We moved it up so us teachers can see who is really prepared for everything. Remember, a shinobi…"
The class finished for him. "…must always expect the unexpected."
The teacher nodded. "Good, I know I did my job well then. We will first do a written exam. This should be the easy part, and all of you should pass. Then we will start on the three main jutsus; the first test on genjutsu, the second on taijutsu, and a final test on your ninjutsu. For the genjutsu, we will have you try and escape a certain illusion to see how strong your mind and willpower is. You won't expect it, so you'll just have to pass it when it comes to you.
"The taijutsu test will have you in a ring with various other students, and you'll have to push the other out. The teachers and I will watch your form and see who wins, because the longer you go the better your chance of passing. The competitiveness is for the pressure; don't want to make this test too easy!
"And the last test, ninjutsu, will have you form a reasonable Clone Jutsu, as it is one of the most used varieties of jutsus you'll see in battle. This jutsu can save your life, and if you can't use it you can't pass."
Iruka stopped a bit to see their reactions. Most of them seemed intimidated yet confident by the test. After all, none of them were older than 12. He grinned; there was one more thing. "Finally, at the end, there is an optional skill test to demonstrate any bloodline limits you may have inherited. This way we can properly coordinate the best sensei that can help you with the bloodline."
Naruto was slightly peeved that most everyone subconsciously glanced at Sasuke. As an Uchiha, the Sharingan was almost a given. Whoever taught him would have a handful.
He wished he had a bloodline limit. Gaara had his sand, Sasuke his Sharingan, the Hyuuga clan their Byakugan… It wasn't fair!
But that wasn't going to stop the future Hokage. Oh no, nothing would stop the blonde-haired boy from achieving his dream.
They started the exams immediately. First was the written exam, which they breezed right by. Naruto hadn't even needed to cheat off Gaara for the answers. But he quite a bit of them blank, or at least he made it look like he had no idea what he was doing. When he turned it in, he was fairly certain that he got somewhere around 70%. Perfect.
Testing genjutsu was an unorthodox yet respectful method. The teachers made them stand in a horizontal line, and after a few dozen seconds of nothing, someone fell to a knee with a pained expression. A few seconds later, he got up, perfectly fine if sweating a little bit. Everyone else in the room visibly tensed.
"Gaara…I think it's already started!" Naruto whispered to his friend. They weren't going to tell who went next, so everyone just stood there in anticipation, guarding their minds for anything unusual.
That's when the Hokage came in. "Iruka, would you bring Sasuke up here. I have something to announce."
Confused, Naruto watched in growing horror as Sarutobi took off his hat and placed it on the Uchiha. "I am retiring, and pronouncing Sasuke Uchiha as the fifth Hokage!"
"No! Nonononono!" Naruto closed his eyes, hands over ears. 'This is only an illusion! Clear your head and force the chakra out!' and when he was sure he cleared his mind, he opened his eyes back up again. The people closest to him stared at him, Gaara included.
There was no Sarutobi, and Sasuke was at the end of the line as usual. He had done it! While not having been particularly worried about this test, it was still good to know he had passed it.
Still, Naruto could feel a strange vibe coming from the people around him. "Um…did I do something wrong?"
Gaara looked back over to him and said, "You passed. I'm sure of that. But you acted differently from the others."
"Whadya mean?" Naruto asked quizzically.
"You yelled out "no" over and over again until you woke up. No one else had such a strong reaction." Gaara looked slightly sympathetic towards Naruto as he asked "What did you see?"
Naruto shook his head, slightly ashamed of himself. Genjutsu normally did not affect him this badly. His practice sessions with Gaara were almost worse. "Not right now; wait until the exams are over."
"Fine."
The rest of the students got by easily, and Naruto quickly realized that the most reaction there had been when one kid stomped his foot in frustration. No one had cried out, except for the occasional wince.
Taijutsu was interesting, to say the least. While no one could touch Gaara while he did a half-hearted hit to his opponent's skull (Gaara had trained a bit in Taijutsu, just for this), Naruto had been paired with some civilian kid, and had let himself fight for a bit before getting beat to the ground. What he didn't expect was an unceremonious and painful kick to his ribcage. "Freak!" the boy called out, before running off with his friends.
The supervisor did nothing to stop him.
Gaara motioned if he should come help or not, but Naruto held him off and instead got himself off the ground. There was more emotional pain than physical pain in his side, something that Naruto could never train himself for.
"How did I do?" Naruto asked when he got back over to Gaara.
The brow-less boy smirked. "Terrible, but enough to pass." The smirk disappeared, a rather murderous glint in his eyes. "But what about that finish? Are you ok?"
Naruto waved him off, seeing that glint and extinguishing it. "Don't worry about it. When I become Hokage, he'll have to respect me. So forget it."
Recovering, the class finished and headed inside to fool around while students were picked to perform the Clone Jutsu.
"Uzumaki Naruto!" Iruka called out.
"Coming Iruka-sensei!" But before he got far, Gaara grabbed his wrist.
"Don't do anything too stupid in there. Our training together is more important than you trying to make a big show of yourself in front of the teacher."
Naruto just gave him a big smile. "I'll pass, be put on the same team, and together we can be the Kage's! Believe it!" He ran off to the testing room.
Once inside, Naruto found himself in front of two of the instructors that would actually give him a fair chance: Mizuki and Iruka-sensei.
"Alright Naruto, let's see what you can do. You already know the jutsu, so just use what you've hopefully learned and you'll be just fine." Iruka really hoped Naruto would make it this time. He sympathized with the kid, and thought it was unfair how others treated him.
"Right!" This would actually be a bit challenging; he had the chakra, but no control over it. Naruto made the seal and yelled out "Clone Jutsu!" In a poof of smoke, a standing-yet-frail copy of Naruto stood to his right. For a second it stood there, before waving a hand and vanishing with some more smoke.
For a frightful second Mizuki and Iruka looked at their notes, evaluating Naruto's performance. He was worried that maybe he didn't try hard enough, and actually did so bad he would fail.
"Naruto." His head perked up; Iruka-sensei was talking to him. "Before we make any final decision, do you have a kekkei-genkai you would like to show us?"
Naruto smiled ruefully at his teacher. "Sorry Iruka-sensei; I am what you see."
'Not very accurate, considering the Fox, but still…' thought Iruka as he made one final decision.
"Mizuki, have anything you would like to say before I make a decision?"
The white-haired chūnin hesitated for a minute before asking "What about his genjutsu? He nearly failed that, and a shinobi who can't shake off an invading illusion is a very real risk to a mission."
Iruka looked over at Naruto and said "Naruto, what type of illusion did you see? What was it of?"
Thinking very carefully as not to miss a single fact, Naruto recited "Old Man Hokage came by and made Sasuke the Fifth Hokage. I freaked out, and that's when I woke up. It was very quick, both in the mind and in the real world."
For a second Naruto saw a flash go by Mizuki's eyes, before it disappeared and thinking he simply imagined it
"Well Naruto, I have to say, even if you barely passed the written and the genjutsu, a pass is still a pass." He took a forehead protector and walked over to Naruto. "As of today, you are officially a shinobi. Well done."
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Most of the night was spent celebrating at Ramen Ichiraku, Naruto showing Teuchi and Ayame his impressive new band. Gaara was a bit calmer about it, simply sitting down to eat some good ol' ramen.
But later that evening, Naruto and Gaara finally found out why the village hated them.
It started off simple enough. The two were just starting up a conversation about the genin exams when Naruto saw Iruka-sensei coming towards them. He appeared to be bleeding badly, one arm nearly useless with other scratches dotting his uniform.
"Iruka-sensei! What happened? Why are you here?" Naruto ran up to him, concerned in his care-being. While not exactly friendly, his academy mentor had at least showed professionalism and taught Naruto just the same as everybody else. Other teachers…hadn't, to put it mildly.
"Naruto…go home with Gaara and make sure you're safe." With a big breath, Iruka set his arm up on the table to let it rest. Now he could talk easier. "It was Mizuki. He stole the Sacred Scroll of Sealing, and now he's making a break for it!" He shook his head sadly. "I always thought he was such a nice guy… Never expected him to act this way…"
When he looked over at Naruto, he was surprised to see that the boy was already gone.
No one had noticed the blonde boy leave. They had been focused on Iruka's tale, and hadn't seen the dark expression cross over Naruto's face as he continued.
"DAMN THAT BOY I WANTED HIM SAFE AND NOW WE DON'T KNOW WHERE HE IS!" Iruka yelled out in a fit of rage; this was exactly what he didn't want to happen. "Gaara, you're Naruto's closest-"
"Only."
Iruka winced internally. Poor kid. "Right, well, consider me a friend for now on, ok? I'm worried for Naruto; I think Mizuki might have it out for him."
Teuchi was listening intently the whole time, and finally had an opening for a question. "Before you tell us, because I know you're going to tell us for Gaara's sake, what happened to you? Why would you be injured?"
Iruka grit his teeth before speaking, the dizziness from blood lost starting to come into effect. "I think he's had something of a grudge against me for some time now. Tonight was the night he would leave Konoha, so he might as well go out with a bang. He came at me while I was finishing some things up at the academy."
"Secondly, how did Mizuki even get the scroll? I thought that was under a high-security vault."
The teacher merely shook his head. "Tonight we were going to move it to the Hokage's office, so he could seal them up personally. It was just a strange coincidence it happened while the students were graduating."
Gaara perked his head back up, finally taking interest into what Iruka was saying. "What do you mean, coincidence?"
"I think Mizuki was planning on having Naruto steal the scroll for him, if he had failed the test, planning on killing his scapegoat and getting away from the scroll." Iruka sighed deeply one more time, thinking of what had happened at the genjutsu trial. "Remember Naruto's intense fight with the genjutsu? I think it was Mizuki who tested him, and instead of simply blinding him had put a full-on genjutsu technique, hoping he would crumble to pieces."
Gaara digested this information before asking a final question. "When are you planning on getting help for those wounds?"
For a second, Iruka was prepared to give him a full answer before realizing that he really did need help. His body was completely cut-up, and he needed to be given to some medic-nin.
"Gaara, help me to the hospital… I think I'll have an easier time if I don't have to limp all the way."
Taking Iruka's arm over his shoulder, Gaara asked "Aren't you worried about Naruto?"
"Nah. I figured if you weren't going after him, I wouldn't need to either." He coughed up some blood. "Besides, why did Naruto go after Mizuki? It's not like the villagers aren't going to like him any better, they hate him too much to be let go after one simple thing."
"It isn't about the villagers, Iruki-sensei. It's more of a personal thing that I'm sure Naruto plans on settling." Gaara said with a wry smile.
Iruka frowned. Other than a toned-down mistreatment Mizuki hadn't done anything to Naruto. "Personal?"
"Mm-hm. That's right. In Naruto's mind, anyone who takes friends for granted are below trash. Mizuki abandoned and attacked a friend, so I'm sure Naruto is going over there to drag him back in a body-bag."
"He would kill Mizuki!? At his age!?"
Gaara thought it over for a minute, before saying "I personally would, but Naruto will simply beat the crap out of him."
In another part of Konoha, and the outskirts, Mizuki had been cornered by Naruto. "Who would've thought that the "Dead-Last" would end up being the one to catch me? Iruka must've slowed me down more than I thought…"
Mizuki wasn't all too good, either. Iruka had put up a good fight, holding his own until Mizuki thought it better to escape then to finish the fight. He was bleeding a good bit in multiple places, but he was still fully functional and had the scroll in one arm, a kunai in the other. The one thing that betrayed his insanity was his eyes; they gave off the look of someone who had been pushed to far over the edge.
"I was planning on making you fail the genjutsu test, as I didn't have any direct influence on your other tests. But somehow you fended it off, and now I had to steal the scroll all by myself!" His smirk had changed to a snarl, anger getting the best of him as Naruto continued to glare at him.
"But now, I will kill you off, and get away without any more resistance! By the time the ANBU come by, I will be long gone. The best part is," a devilish grin appeared on his face, "no one will miss you, except that pathetic and cowardly friend of yours!"
Naruto just let the crazy man rant. He didn't care about this stuff. He came here for one thing and one thing only. "But why? Why go after Iruka-sensei? He has done nothing to you!"
Mizuki's eyes bulged out as he screamed at the boy, "NOTHING?! He has made me look like a fool! Always considered a better shinobi than I am! Well tonight, it was ME who beat him, not the other way around!"
"And with this scroll, I will become stronger than any other person in this village! And when I come back, it will be only to punish those who have made me miserable. Especially you."
Now he had Naruto's attention. Mizuki saw his head perk up, and continued. "What? You never knew why the whole village would whisper behind you and that brow-less one's back? Why you deserve to be put down like a rabid dog and burned to ashes?"
His eyes widened in insanity as he went on. "You are the very thing that this village hates. When you walk through the town, you remind the villagers of the pain and misery that was caused twelve years ago."
Demon brat…
"The Nine-Tailed Fox! The demon that caused the death of the much-beloved Fourth Hokage, along with thousands of others! And on that day, instead of finishing off the beast, the Fourth Hokage made a blemish that tainted his very legacy."
Naruto finally understood where this was going. Until then, he had been frozen in place while he desperately listened to why the villagers hated him so much.
"The Yellow Flash of Konoha sealed the beast into a newborn babe. That newborn was you! YOU ARE THE NINE-TAILED FOX!"
It all made so much sense that Naruto's first thought was shock. How did he not see this coming? Every student was told the story about the Kyūbi's rampage, although the story was told that Minato Namikaze had instead destroyed the beast before succumbing from his injuries. That was the child version.
But now was not the time to think about this. Gaara would want to know this too, and Naruto would hate to think of this before he could bounce his ideas off Gaara.
"So what if I do have the Kyūbi? I am Uzumaki Naruto, not the Nine-Tailed Fox! I am my own person, and never before had I felt an invading presence try and make me do evil things! And I would never let myself hurt or betray my friends!" He looked back up to glare at Mizuki. "Unlike you."
Unfortunately for him, Mizuki laughed it off. "Friends only make you weak. If you are strong, you have no need to rely on others! I have no morals, ethics or attachments to hold me back. I am not afraid to-"
He was cut short as Naruto launched himself into his stomach with both feet, knocking him back and into the tree behind him. The younger boy screamed, "YOU HAVE NO HONOR! NO REMORSE! IRUKA-SENSEI TREATED YOU EQUALLY AND WHAT DID HE GET IN RETURN?! A stab in the back! No one deserves that!"
Momentarily shocked by the kid's fierceness, Mizuki brushed himself off before saying, "You have no chance, boy. I am a chūnin-level shinobi, while you barely passed your test, dead-last! You have no chance of beating me!"
Naruto stood up from his position on the tree branch. He knew that this was true; no matter how skilled he was at the moment, he was too inexperienced to do anything effective to the chūnin. He only had a lucky first shot. But…
"You don't get it, do you Mizuki?"
Mizuki's smirk dropped off his face. "Huh?"
Naruto's fist tightened, a small smile starting to adorn his face. "You can't stop me. I've trained too hard, lived too long to fall to someone like you." His eyes met those of Mizuki's, and in those eyes were a fire that not even the strongest water jutsu could quench. "I'm going to be Hokage one day! And if you think you can stop me, well, you've got another thing coming! Believe it!"
With that, Naruto launched his assault, hands moving before his brain's permission.
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Gaara was slightly peeved. Naruto should be coming back to the apartment soon, and even though he knew it was because of a "personal" problem, Gaara still didn't like it when Naruto went off without him. Not everybody had some sand to conveniently protect you from whatever came your way.
But soon enough, a special knock on the door indicated that it was Naruto.
The special knock was made when one year, during the Kyūbi festival (and Naruto's birthday), someone had knocked on the door. Oblivious to the danger, Gaara answered it only to see a smoking explosive tag slapped to a teddy bear. His quick thinking had saved the front door (and a visit from the landlord), but ever since they had been cautious about who they let in their room.
Naruto was bruised and bleeding in multiple places, but he seemed not to care about that. "Where's Iruka-sensei?"
Sighing, Gaara told him that their teacher was being probably at home treating himself to some ramen. Then he asked, "Why did you run off, Naruto?"
The orange-clad ninja rubbed the back of his head sheepishly before replying, "Ehehe, I guess I kind of did. But don't worry about it Gaara; I got the guy and he's currently in ANBU custody."
"You got the guy? How? Wasn't he a chūnin?"
"I'm just really skilled!" exclaimed Naruto before becoming strangely quiet and looking at Gaara intensively. "But nevermind that. I learned something tonight that I think is about to change our lives, even more so than it already has."
That got Gaara's attention, and soon he quickly abated his questions about Mizuki. Naruto was acting discreet and quietly, as if he was afraid someone would come along and stop him from what he was about to do. But it wasn't a get-scorned-and-told-off kind of fear, more a beaten-to-a-pulp-by-a-mob fear. This was serious.
Naruto went on to describe the night, first depicting how he had taken Mizuki on in a red haze. His emotions from an earlier talk and Mizuki's betrayal of Iruka's trust made him fight like a demon, as if his very way of life was on the line. Naruto visibly cringed when he said 'demon' but Gaara guessed it had to do about something Naruto was dying to tell him.
He was right. "Gaara, Mizuki told me why everybody in the village hates us. I don't know all the details, but apparently I am literally the jailer of the Nine-Tailed fox, using my own body to keep it sealed. The people think of the destruction the Kyūbi caused, and instinctively hate me for it." He bent his head towards Gaara, eyes wide and in a whisper said "This means that you probably have a tailed-beast as well! That's why we're hated so much! Why you were banished from your village! It's not us; it's what's inside us!"
This revelation caused Gaara and Naruto to talk excitedly yet worriedly for another half hour, before realizing the time. "Naruto, we can talk more in the morning, we have our first day as genin tomorrow. We'll finally be selected for our teams."
After being rudely interrupted, Naruto came to see his reasoning before getting himself into his own bed. "This opens up so many new questions."
"I agree with you Naruto, but we need to take this slow. Nobody has mentioned this to us for the past 12 years for a reason, and I want to know this reason before we go out and explore. We have no idea what we're dealing with."
Naruto nodded. Gaara was the logical, thinking one. He trusted his fellow demon-carrier to do what was best for them.
Instead of arguing and talking more about their demon predicament, Naruto simply closed his eyes and fell to sleep.
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I know I might've overdone the moment when Naruto was told he was the Kyūbi, but that was one of the most pivotal moments in Naruto's life, and deserved quite a bit of attention.
And while the story may seem to be a lot like the anime/mange so far, that will change the minute they are put into teams. Not sure how you'll react, but I want to try it.
Also, I'm planning on changing a theme in this story to "romance" if I get to the chūnin exams the way I want it to go. By then I want to be adding some minor, oh so minor romance to get the feel for it, and then blossoming later on. Pairings still undecided, but I'm getting there.
Finally, the dōjutsu I mentioned I wanted Naruto to have? I have finally finished its requirements, look, and abilities, but I have yet to name it. I'm researching, but "Google Translate" isn't the most reliable source when you want something translated…Oh well. And the dōjutsu will come out on one of Naruto's missions.
Next chapter, teams will be decided, sensei's are revealed, and an actual fight scene will ensure!
Constructive criticism is appreciated, but flames will be ignored.
Cheers.